he cut defense way back. i think the president could do a little bit more to attract some people over to his side if he did that. but i'm just struck by the fact that we've got this completely outside game. >> right. >> there's not a lot going on on the inside in terms of real negotiation. but we'll get there. >> and steve, this is a point we brought up last hour. you know, everybody is debating over raising top rates for people making $250,000 or more. you look -- tom's talking about $88 trillion. you look at the small percentage, these tax increases as part of the bigger problem, and you realize that we're not even having a serious discussion right now. we're obsessed on something that's not going to save us. >> well, that's true. first, with respect to what david said, i think partly why they're playing an outside game is because they've been criticized in the past of playing too much of an inside game. the president's criticized himself for not taking his message outside, telling his story. secondly, i do